Energy in Turkey
Energy consumption per person in Turkey is similar to the world average,[1][2] and over 85 per cent is from fossil fuels.
[7] The OECD has criticised the lack of carbon pricing,[8] fossil fuel subsidies[9] and the country's under-utilized wind and solar potential.
[10] The country's electricity supplies 20% of its energy[11] and is generated mainly from coal, gas and hydroelectricity; with a small but growing amount from wind, solar and geothermal.
However, as of 2019[update], little research has been done on the policies Turkey uses to reduce energy poverty, which also include some subsidies for home heating and electricity use.
"[18] These plans have been criticised for being published over a year after work mentioned in it had started,[22][23] not sufficiently involving the private sector,[24] and for being inconsistent with Turkey's climate policy.
[25] For example in 2024 a minister said that by Turkey’s net zero year of 2053 half of primary energy would be from renewables and 30% from nuclear, but did not explain how the remaining 20% could be decarbonized.
[28] The Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), a think tank, says that in the 2010s, fossil fuel imports were probably the largest structural vulnerability of the country's economy:[29] they cost $41 billion in 2019 representing about a fifth of Turkey's total import bill,[30] and were a large part of the 2018 current account deficit[31] and the country's debt problems.
[41] In 2020, renewables generated 40% of Turkey's electricity, which reduced gas import costs: but, being mainly hydroelectricity, the amount that can be produced is vulnerable to drought.
[48] In the 21st century, Turkey's fossil fuel subsidies are around 0.2% of GDP,[49][50]: 29 including at least US$14 billion (US$169 per person) between January 2020 and September 2021.
[60] In Turkey, tax levied on diesel is lower than that on petrol, and it has been suggested by the Istanbul International Centre for Energy and Climate at Sabancı University that taxes on diesel and petrol should be more-closely aligned with each other to minimise imports, because Turkey has enough petrol-refining capacity.
[73] As of 2019[update], the government aims to keep the share of coal in the energy portfolio at around the same level in the medium to long term.
[75] Despite protests against coal power plants,[76] construction of Emba Hunutlu was subsidized,[77] and in 2021 Turkey's sovereign wealth fund was still hoping for Chinese partners to start constructing Afşin-Elibistan C.[78] Even in cities where natural gas is available, the government supports poor households with free coal.
[79] Without subsidies, new and some existing coal power would be unprofitable, and it is claimed that path dependence or past decisions, political influence, and distorted markets are why they continue.
[82] The EU might persuade Turkey to cooperate on climate change by supporting policies that reduce the country's external energy dependency in a sustainable manner.
[83] The government holds a quarter of total installed electricity supply and often offers prices below market levels.
In 2024 the long-term climate plan said that by 2053, the net zero target year, renewables would supply half of primary energy.
[90] In an attempt to reduce fossil fuel imports the government supports local production of electric cars and solar cells.
[2] Nuclear safety regulations and human resources could be improved[93] by cooperation with Euratom ( European Atomic Energy Community).
[94] Retrofitting equipment for pollution control, such as flue-gas desulfurization at old lignite-fuelled plants like Soma power station,[95] might not be financially possible, as they use outdated technology.
[96] The government collects data on sulfur dioxide (SO2), NOx and particulate air pollution from each large plant,[97] but it is not published.
According to Ümit Şahin, who teaches climate change at Sabancı University, Turkey must abandon fossil fuel completely and switch to 100% renewable energy by 2050.
[105] Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency said in 2019 that, because of its falling price, the focus should be on maximizing onshore wind power in Turkey.
[101] In 2024 Shura estimated the costs of moving to clean energy at about half the benefits, which are mostly due to reduced air pollution and carbon emissions.
[114] Every year, thousands of people die prematurely from coal-related causes, the most common of which is local air pollution.
[150] Consumption of energy in Turkey is around the world average of about seventy gigajoules (GJ) per person per year.
Most electricity is generated from coal, gas and hydropower, with hydroelectricity from the east transmitted to big cities in the west.
[164] In 2021 the International Energy Agency recommended Turkey includes further electrification in integrated scenario planning.
[7]: 3 Mckinsey suggested in 2023 that Turkey may become part of a bloc along with China and India buying fuel from Russia.
